Funding for $2.4 million principal pandemic pay will come from savings on supply teachers, professional development, TDSB says

The Toronto school board will fund the $2.4 million in extra pay being given to principals and vice-principals for their pandemic planning work by using savings from budgets for supply teachers and professional development.

In a fact sheet provided to the Star by TDSB Chair Alexander Brown, the board said it decided in late July to open schools earlier and needed administrators there to implement COVID-19 health and safety plans, as well as respond to parent “requests for information, which was immense at this time.”

It says principals, vice-principals and office staff in high schools returned a week early — on Aug. 17 — and elementary administrators were recalled Aug. 24, and notes that both office and caretaking staff “were paid for this scheduled time.”

“As principals and vice-principals are 10-month employees, an operational decision is made by senior management to pay them for returning earlier and on a designated date consistent for all schools in the elementary and secondary panel in order to safely reopen their schools given the additional demands related to health and safety, training of staff, re-staffing of schools,” the fact sheet says.

“While they are expected to work in order to properly close and open their schools, this unique summer saw their attendance required at a much earlier time (e.g. 5 to 10 days) and it is determined to recognize that by paying them for 3.75 days.”

The estimated cost of $2.2 million to $2.4 million “is considered a cost associated with the 2019/2020 school year as it occurred in August, (and) will be paid for using funds recovered as a result of significant savings attained during that school year for items such as (but not limited to) supply teachers, professional development and utilities.”

Brown, who said trustees were not aware of the additional payout as well as lieu days, has said more details will be shared at a Tuesday finance committee meeting.

A handful of boards across the province are believed to be giving the pandemic bonus to principals, including the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board.

The Toronto Catholic board is not providing its administrators with any additional pay.

Vice-principals make about $110,000 a year and principals $130,000, and they work a week or two past the end of the school year and usually have the remainder of the summer off. They do not claim for any overtime worked during the school year.

The Toronto board is to all principals and vice-principals, regardless of whether they returned early or worked every day, although the head of the Toronto School Administrators’ Association said while attendance was not taken, he was not aware of any absences.

Asked about the issue Monday, Premier Doug Ford said “everyone went above and beyond. I’ll have to dig into it with the minister of education and get the full details.”

However, he said, “if there is one thing that’s working throughout the whole system — I think a lot of things are working — but it’s the schools. They’re working and I have to give credit where credit’s due. As for the bonus, I’ll have to look into that.”

Brown has said the money is to recognize that “the task of reopening our schools this year was overwhelming, often frustrating and difficult. Many people ended up putting in more hours than one can imagine.”

Leslie Wolfe, who is president of the local unit of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, plans to address the controversy at Tuesday’s meeting. She has called the extra pay an outrage, and that it comes as “the board says it has no money for additional teachers.”

About 24 teachers could be hired with $2.4 million.

Wolfe has said her members “are feeling very demoralized by the board’s recognition of principals and vice-principals and not the front-line education workers and teachers.”

Kristin Rushowy is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: